WEBVTT for Parkinson's Disease. Nats of typing Victoria Miller has been living with Parkinson's Disease for 15 years. MILLER 1:54 IT AFFECTS ME BY RIGIDITY, MY MUSCLES GET REALLY STIFF, ESPECIALLY MY LEFT SIDE IS BAD, AND TREMOR She has had to trade old pasttimes like gardening... For things to keep her physically active, like boxing, which helps the disease. MILLER 4:06 YOU CAN SIT AND WAIT FOR THE DISEASE TO TAKE OVER OR YOU CAN BE OPTIMISTIC She's been optimistic one day they'll be a cure. And now researchers at Iowa State University are one step closer. KANTHASAMY 7:45 IT'S A LONG WAY AWAY BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD STRATEGY Researchers spent many long hours these labs at Iowa State University and found a protein that may protect brain cells. KANTHASAMY 7:10 THIS PROTEIN I RELEASED DURING STRESSED, THEN IT HELPS THE CELLS TO MAKE MORE MITOCHONDRIA TO HELP WITH THE STRESS THEN YOU CAN SEE HELPS WITH THE SURVIVAL OF THE CELLS. This discovery gives scientist a new target to look at when it comes to fighting Parkinson's disease. KANTHASAMY 7:35 WHAT WE CALL SUSCEPTIBLE TARGETS, SO WE C DOUBLE UP ON SOME DRUGS OR OTHER STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE PROTEIN LEVELS IN PARKINSON'S PATIENTS. MILLER 4:33 OH HO HO THAT MAKES ME FEEL ELATED ABSOLUTELY. HOW CAN WE NOT BE THRILLED OVER SOMETHING LIKE THAT? Kanthasamy says the science is pretty complex so its hard to estimate a timeline. KANTHASAMY 10:08 BUT I WOULD THINK FIVE TO TEN YEARS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE GOOD PROGRESS. AT LEAST SEE WHERE THE TARGET IS, IF WE CAN MAKE THAT WORK. And hopefully lead to a cure for the disease affecting a million people like Victoria Miller. MILLER 9:17 I THINK THAT A CURE IS AT OUR FINGER TIPS

“It affects me by rigidity, my muscles get really stiff, especially my left side is bad, and tremor,” Miller said.

She has had to trade old pastimes like gardening for things to keep her physically active, like boxing, which helps the disease.

“You can sit and wait for the disease to take over or you can be optimistic,” said Miller, who’s optimistic that one day, there will be a cure.

And now researchers at ISU are one step closer.

“It’s a long way away, but I think it’s a good strategy,” said Anumantha Kanthasamy, one of the researchers who may have found a protein, Prokineticin-2, which may protect brain cells. “This protein is released during stress, then it helps the cells to make more mitochondria to help with the stress. Then you can see it helps with the survival of the cells.”

This discovery gives scientists a new target to look at when it comes to fighting Parkinson's disease.

“What we call susceptible targets, we can double up on some drugs or other strategies to increase the protein levels in Parkinson’s patients,” Kanthasamy said.

“That makes me feel elated,” Miller said. “How can we not be thrilled over something like that?”

Kanthasamy said the science is complex, so it’s hard to estimate a timeline.

“I would think in five to 10 years, we should be able to make good progress,” Kanthasamy said. “At least see where the target is, if we can make that work.”

“I think that a cure is at our fingertips,” Miller said.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is also raising money to find a cure for Parkinson's disease.

The nonprofit is selling tickets to win a pair of limited edition Nike Mag shoes, similar to the shoes Fox wore in the popular movie, “Back to the Future.”